Ultimate Grilled Swiss with Bacon Peach Jam

This Grilled Swiss post has been sponsored by Finlandia as a part of its National Dairy Month campaign. All opinions expressed are my own. #finlandiacheese #finlandiabutter

I’m not sure what I would do without cheese in my life.

A bit of a dramatic statement, I know, but true. There are few days when cheese of some variety doesn’t find its way into my diet: a little Cheddar in an egg white omelette, a slice of Gouda on a roast beef sandwich, or a piece of Swiss with crackers for a snack.

This in mind, you can imagine my enthusiasm when one of my favorite brands, Finlandia, invited me to participate in their National Dairy Month campaign for June highlighting cheese and butter.

The quality of ingredients I use in my kitchen has always been a top priority for me. Not only do excellent ingredients taste great in recipes, but I also feel more confident when I know the source of the foods I’m serving to my family and friends.

Finlandia is a brand I’ve known and trusted for years. I love that their dairy products are all-natural and made with hormone-free milk from cows raised on family-owned farms in Finland.

Taste-wise, the products are exceptionally flavorful and creamy. There’s no comparison to baking with fine European butter (it gives cakes and cookies an incredible crumb) and the cheeses melt like a dream!

To find Finlandia cheese and butter, visit the product locator on their website to view a list of stores near you.

A couple of general grilled cheese making tips: I find that using a heavier bread, like sourdough, is key in an “ultimate” sandwich such as this. The bread needs to be able to stand up to the plentiful ingredients, in order to griddle and eat without falling apart.

For best success, cook the sandwiches over a relatively low flame, slowly, so the bread crisps and toasts with enough time for the cheese to melt all the way through.

A grill press works great to compress the sandwiches a bit for even cooking, but if you don’t have one, you can press down with your spatula, or weight with a canned good placed on top of a plate.

The quantity of ingredients, of course, will depend on the size of your bread slices; for the sandwiches photographed here, I utilized a standard boule.

Butter and cheese: talk about a combo worth celebrating for National Dairy Month! What are your favorite grilled cheese varieties? I’d love to hear about them in the comments below.

Instructions

Spread one side of each slice of bread with butter. Spread each unbuttered side with about 2 tablespoons bacon jam. Layer sandwich with 1-1/2 slices swiss cheese, followed by half of the peach slices, half of the baby arugula leaves, and another 1-1/2 slices of cheese, and a second piece of the prepared bread. Repeat with remaining ingredients to assemble second sandwich.

Cook sandwiches in a nonstick pan or griddle over medium-low heat until bread is golden and cheese is melted, pressing the sandwich with a spatula or grill press as it cooks. Serve immediately.

Recipe Notes

Homemade Bacon Peach Jam is a delicious addition to these grilled cheese sandwiches; as a timesaver, they can also be made with your favorite commercially-prepared bacon jam.

Have you made this recipe? Let me know by leaving a comment and rating the recipe below! Don’t forget to take a picture and tag @stripedspatula and #stripedspatula on Instagram for a chance to be featured in my newsletter!

Amanda — I agree — cheese is a necessary part of my existence too and this sandwich is over-the-top! Peaches are one of my favorite summer fruits and I’ve never thought to try them in a sandwich before. I have to pin this for next summer because sadly there are no peaches available now.